COVID-19: Emir’s palace at Buhari’s hometown shut down due to pandemic

The palace of Umar Farouk, the Emir of Daura in Katsina state; has been sealed off after a case of COVID-19 was recorded.

It was gathered that the COVID-19 case led to the closure which is a “normal routine”; according to Mustapha Inuwa, secretary to the state government.

According to him, samples had been taken from the palace which has been placed under lock.

In the same vein, the state’s police spokesperson, Gambo Isa said, “Daura is under lockdown and so it shall be in every nook and cranny in the town without exception to anybody’s house; the police are just ensuring the lockdown order of the state government.”

Katsina State on Sunday recorded eight new cases of COVID-19; according to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 46.

While six persons have recovered and have since been discharged, the state has recorded seven fatalities, including its index case; a medical doctor resident in Daura, Dr. Aliyu Yakubu, who returned from Lagos a week before his death.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 says it has observed poor compliance to physical distancing and use of face masks; as ease of a five weeks lockdown on Lagos, FCT and Ogun states began on Monday, May 4.

1st News had reported that the Federal Government had relaxed the COVID-19 lockdown earlier imposed on Lagos, Ogun; as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; as part of measures to control the spread of the virus.

Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19; made this observation at the daily briefing session in Abuja.

According to the PTF chairman, the danger of the COVID-19 was not over. Further, he noted that individual actions will contribute to the success or failure of measures put in place to control it from escalating.

“The PTF has been monitoring the level of compliance with some of the measures and early observations showed a lack of compliance with social distancing and wearing of masks. We note particularly the chaotic scenes around the banks and other financial institutions.

“As we journey into this new phase of measures; it is imperative that I re-iterate the importance of adherence to the guidelines more so that preliminary reports indicate that there is observable high level of breaches by the citizenry.”